Mildura electorate neighbourhood houses
Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (09:47): I have mentioned already in this place this week that Charlton really copped the full force of last week’s storms, and I wanted to send a shout-out not only to our emergency services but to Charlton Neighbourhood House and the neighbourhood houses right across the region – Mildura, Robinvale, Birchip, Ouyen, Donald, Charlton, Sea Lake and surrounding areas. During this cost-of-living crisis these neighbourhood houses offer incredibly important services and are really under the pump. Meanwhile, they are still having to worry about concurrent funding. I call on the government to ease the stress and back it in this year’s budget, because neighbourhood houses across the state are in times of uncertainty, and they really need one pressure point lifted. During the cost-of-living crisis these houses are a place of refuge for some, learning for others and necessity for some.